Hamas on Monday night condemned the UN Security Council’s approval of the resolution backing US President Donald Trump’s 20-point plan for Gaza.
“The resolution imposes an international guardianship mechanism over the Gaza Strip, which our people, its forces, and factions reject,” the terrorist organization said in a statement quoted by Channel 12 News.
It added, “Resistance to occupation by all means is a legitimate right enshrined in international laws and conventions. The weapons of resistance are tied to the existence of the occupation, and any discussion on the matter must remain a national internal issue linked to a political path that guarantees the end of the occupation, the establishment of a state, and the determination of destiny.”
13 member-states of the Security Council voted in favor of the proposal. Russia and China abstained.
The main elements of the resolution include establishing an international force to stabilize the region, disarming Hamas, and creating a “pathway to the establishment of a Palestinian state.”
Hamas clarified its disapproval of the resolution already on Sunday, when the terrorist group’s spokesman Hazem Qassem told Al Jazeera, “The amendments, additions, and clauses included in this resolution do not serve the goal of continuity and stability in the Gaza Strip, because they grant guardianship to non-Palestinian entities over the Palestinian reality - whether at the level of governance, security, or through interference in internal Palestinian affairs without waiting for any internal Palestinian arrangement.”
He stressed, “We want a Security Council resolution that protects our people’s right to self-determination, that defends their right to establish a state, and that prevents war in Gaza and the continued Israeli aggression against our people - in the West Bank, Gaza, and Jerusalem. There should have been a clear formulation stating that the role of the international force in Gaza is to act as a buffer between the occupation and the besieged civilians.”